President Donald Trump said Monday that he wanted to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year and was open to further trade talks with South Korea even as he lobbed new criticisms at the visiting Asian ally.

At the White House, President Trump and Lee Jae Myung praised each other’s eagerness to talk to North Korea’s leader — even if he doesn’t want to talk to them.

President Donald Trump is willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, he told his South Korean counterpart on Monday when they discussed peace in the Korean Peninsula and Pyongyang’s nuclear weapon capabilities.